Man's Place in Nature, and Other Essays — John Shaqi
Man's Place in Nature, and Other EssaysHuxley, Thomas Henry
Science
Man's Place in Nature, and Other Essays
Huxley, Thomas Henry
Apes; Ethnology; Human beings -- Origin; Indo-Europeans
"But they have great store of elephant's flesh, which they
greatly esteeme, and many kinds of wild beasts; and great
store of fish. Here is a great sandy bay, two leagues to the
northward of Cape Negro,[3] which is the port of Mayombe.
Sometimes the Portugals lade log-wood in this bay. Here is a
great river, called Banna: in the winter it hath no barre,
because the generall winds cause a great sea. But when the
sunne hath his south declination, then a boat may goe in; for
then it is smooth because of the raine. This river is very
great, and hath many ilands and people dwelling in them. The
woods are so covered with baboones, monkies, apes and
parrots, that it will feare any man to travaile in them
alone. Here are also two kinds of monsters, which are common
in these woods, and very dangerous.
"The greatest of these two monsters is called Pongo in their
language, and the lesser is called Engeco. This Pongo is in
all proportion like a man; but that he is more like a giant
in stature than a man; for he is very tall, and hath a man's
face, hollow-eyed, with long haire upon his browes. His face
and eares are without haire, and his hands also. His bodie is
full of haire, but not very thicke; and it is of a dunnish
colour.
"He differeth not from a man but in his legs; for they have
no calfe. Hee goeth alwaies upon his legs, and carrieth his
hands clasped in the nape of his necke when he goeth upon the
ground. They sleepe in the trees, and build shelters for the
raine. They feed upon fruit that they find in the woods, and
upon nuts, for they eate no kind of flesh. They cannot
speake, and have no understanding more than a beast. The
people of the countrie, when they travaile in the woods make
fires where they sleepe in the night; and in the morning when
they are gone, the Pongoes will come and sit about the fire
till it goeth out; for they have no understanding to lay the
wood together. They goe many together and kill many negroes
that travaile in the woods. Many times they fall upon the
elephants which come to feed where they be, and so beate them
with their clubbed fists, and pieces of wood, that they will
runne roaring away from them. Those Pongoes are never taken
alive because they are so strong, that ten men cannot hold
one of them; but yet they take many of their young ones with
poisoned arrowes.
"The young Pongo hangeth on his mother's belly with his hands
fast clasped about her, so that when the countrie people kill
any of the females they take the young one, which hangeth
fast upon his mother.
"When they die among themselves, they cover the dead with
great heaps of boughs and wood, which is commonly found in
the forest."[4]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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